MEMBERS of the Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) have warned that lives will be lost if Government-imposed cuts are made to the fire service.

MEMBERS of the Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) have warned that lives will be lost if Government-imposed cuts are made to the fire service.

Terry Coe, chairman of the FBU in Runcorn, has told of a 'dramatic' risk to the lives of Halton residents if modernisation changes proposed by the Government get the go-ahead.

Firefighters' long-running pay dispute was brought to a halt earlier this month when crews 'reluctantly' accepted a three-year, 16% pay rise in return for limited reforms in working practices.

But the reforms, which are scheduled to take effect in 2005, could mean a massive reduction in fire cover and the near-doubling of response times for every emergency call-out in Cheshire.

Halton is currently listed in risk category B, which means it takes one fire crew on average five minutes to arrive at an emergency.

But this response time could change to eight minutes in September 2005.

Mr Coe said: 'I would say some of the modernisation changes that the Government is calling for could have a dramatic effect on people's lives in Halton.

'The repercussions will be caused by smaller staffing levels, the lack of fire cover and changes made to to risk management.'

He added: 'At the moment, of the 800 firefighters we've got in Cheshire, about 200 are part-time. Every night in Runcorn we can guarantee at least eight to nine firefighters will be on duty and the same in Widnes.

'At the moment it's a 24-hour manned station and if you compare it with the police, where there are more than 2,000 officers on duty and you're guaranteed emergency assistance, then I don't know why the Government has adopted such a different approach.'

David Williams, secretary of the FBU in Cheshire, reiterated Mr Coe's concerns over emergency cover and hinted at widespread confusion around the 16% pay offer.

The exact rise that firefighters can expect will not be determined until a Government White Paper is published outlining the future of the fire service.

It has also been estimated that individual firefighters have lost more than &#xA3;1,100 since the pay dispute began.

Said Mr Williams: 'At the moment, we're working on a verbal agreement around the efficiency savings and we're still a little unclear as to where the money is going to be saved from.

'If cuts take place it is likely to be at a cost to the fire service and will effect the banded risk areas.'

Referring to the Government's decision to switch power to deal with the striking firefighters to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Mr Williams said: 'There is the feeling that firefighters would like to see changes in the Labour Party as it appears to be no better than a Conservative government.

'Public services have suffered under New Labour and firefighters may now decide to take union funds away from the Government and point them in direction of those services.'